T R E A S U R E  I S L A N D - T-ISLAND SCREENPLAY

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SKELETON ISLAND - Was a pirate secret location, known only to a small number of captains by that name. But as piracy became unfashionable with mass hangings, the numbers of those in the know, dwindled. Until, all that remained was a location carved in wood. Generally hidden somewhere safe by the pirate concerned. This location was useless without a chart giving the exact position that each pirate buried their stash. The maps made on parchment, were handed down to the next generations, by way of inheritance free of taxes.

<<< CHAPTER 14

The Hispaniola motored between Santa Catalina and Isla providence, via the channel that passed under 'Puente De Los Enamorados,' the Lover's Bridge, thence to the jetty and boat dock known as Muelle de Barcos. The Elizabeth Swann was in plain sight, tied up end on to the pier. Captain Tremaine expertly maneuvered the sixty foot yacht, coming alongside the wooden structure on the south side. Billy Bones leaped ashore, while Black Jack threw ropes to his shipmate, to tie up. It was a sunny afternoon, with a brisk breeze that chilled the air.

In his cabin, Lord Huntington slipped into a lightweight wind-cheater of the yachting variety. He was wearing walking boots in place of his deck shoes, in preparation for the hike ahead. Having completed his ablutions, he skipped up on deck, passing Captain Tremaine as he did so.

"Skipper."

"Your Lordship."

"I'm off on a scouting mission of sorts, to get my bearings. Would you please stay onboard with the crew, or not wander too far inshore. I'll try to be as quick as can be. And will report anything of interest, should we need help."

"Right you are squire," said Captain Tremaine. "This is your party."

Huntington headed for the Elizabeth Swann, with a spring in his step.

"Ahoy there," he shouted. Standing close to the port sponson of the Swann. John Storm appeared on the adjoining walkway, between the forward helm and rear cabins.

"This way Lord Huntington."

Huntington scaled a ladder taking him down to the port outrigger, then to the walkway. The two men shook hands.

"Let's hope we have more luck this time."

"Quite so." Lord Huntington followed John forward, into the closed helm.

"My word, that is some chart table. Hello Dan, Miss Trisha."

John, Dan and Cleopatra smiled. It was a magnificent war office, with a giant table for planning missions and reading paper charts.

"Good afternoon Lord Huntington," said Hal. Huntington looked around for another crew member. His eyes scanned the ultra modern instrument consoles. "Gracious, me three seats, very Star trek." Then he spotted a screen with a face. "Ah, there you are. Wondered when we'd meet. Wow, and look at that view."

The view forward was uncluttered by decks and fittings. Looking straight out to sea, with a panoramic of the ocean ahead and down, unparalleled in any other ship.

"That is stunning. Feels like were swimming with the fishes. Must get one of those."

Cleopatra brought over some tea. 

"Oh, lovely. Very thoughtful of you my dear." Huntington desperately tried not to admire Cleopatra's perfectly formed body, he thought that was bad form. Keeping his eyes firmly fixed on her beautiful face.

"Well to business then. John, I have a map of this Archipelago, with some landmarks that I'm hoping you'll be able to help me identify."

"Uh, huh. Where did this map originate?"

"Well John, if I told you, you'd not believe me."

"Try me."

"It's a matter of, well, er, secrecy. This must remain strictly confidential. I need your word on that. Many men have died over this schematic."

John looked to Dan and Cleopatra. Then to Hal. "We'll give you that assurance, as Blue Shield agents, won't we?"

Dan opened up. "It's true Lord Huntington, we are Blue Shield operatives, but more than that. When John gives his word, it is his bond. The same goes for Trisha here, and myself. We are loyal to John.

"Splendid. And Hal?"

"Hal's AI is focused on vessel management. He cannot store or divulge anything without my express authorization. Now, why should Blue Shield, give this mission such prioritized attention?"

"I mentioned before of a handsome contribution to the UN's heritage arm. If, that is, you help me to find objects of value thought to have once been the property of a certain historic figure. And you have recently found the remains of another historic character. Have you not."

"Indeed, we have. But you are speaking of someone else. Probably then about time, don't you think, to share at least some information, if we are to be of any use to your own investigations. Your last steer was anything but accurate."

"Quite so. And, I'll get to the bottom of that bogus intelligence. But well, okay then, here we go."

There was a long silence while Huntington steeled himself, then he took a deep breath. "A long departed relative of mine was bequeathed a map of an island, this island. The origination of that map being all important."

"Yes," said John, urging Lord Huntington on.

"The map I'm about to share with you," Huntington hesitated yet again, was taken from a ship called the 'Adventure' on the twenty-second of November 1718."

"You are kidding me. The battle of Ocracoke?"

"You know of this battle?"

"Since I was a kid. If we are on the same hymn sheet, and we must be, this is when Blackbeard the pirate was captured, tortured, and beheaded."

"Right you are John, Lieutenant Robert Maynard, and his crew searched the ship from top to bottom, and only found this map and other letters. But nothing else. No gold or silver hoard."

"Wait a minute, isn't that Commander Maynard also Royal Navy?"

"Yes, he is, isn't he. A remarkable coincidence. Though, Governor Spotswood of Virginia commissioned the attack, not King George. It was not an officially sanctioned mission." 

John let that go for now, as just a coincidence. But John did not believe in coincidences.

The gentle sigh of the Providencia bay lapped against the hull of the Elizabeth Swann, a hushed counterpoint to the silent intensity between the two men on deck. Moonlight silvered the placid water, casting long, dancing shadows that seemed to writhe with the island’s hidden history. Lord Huntington, his aristocratic bearing underscored by a palpable tremor of anticipation, held the aged map as if it were a sacred text. Beside him, John Storm, his his enhanced strength from his CRISPR virus injection, from Huntington, their gazes fixed on the dark silhouette of the island looming before them.

“Listen closely, John,” Huntington’s voice, usually booming, was now a conspiratorial murmur. “This chart… it once guided the hands of Henry Morgan himself, and the infamous Blackbeard. Yet, the fury of Iota has Scourged this land. Landmarks… vanished from our flawed copy. We must peel back the layers of time and tempest to reclaim what was lost.”

A confident laugh rumbled in John’s chest. “My lord, I’ve shifted stones that would break the backs of lesser men. If Blackbeard’s fortune lies buried beneath this cursed soil, then, I will carve a path through rock and ruin to claim it.”

Their eyes met, a silent pact forged in the moonlight. Huntington not understanding. The Swann groaned softly, as if sharing secrets long held, before they stepped onto the shadowed shore, the island’s mysteries beckoning.

The trail was a forgotten scar upon the landscape, choked with overgrown foliage. Huntington consulted the map, its faded lines offering only fragmented guidance, augmented by the cryptic whispers of his own memory.

“Mark my words, John,” he murmured, his voice lowered as if the very air held ears. “There are symbols… hidden nuances… absent from this wretched copy. Clues meant only for the discerning eye.”

A grin stretched across John’s face, his fists clenching with a thrill of anticipation. “Then lead on, my lord. Let us follow the echoes of your knowledge, for the combined treasure of Blackbeard and Morgan awaits our grasp.”

Towering rock formations loomed, a natural barricade guarding the entrance to a yawning cave. With a grunt that spoke of immense power, John heaved aside a colossal stone, revealing a dark maw that surprised even the usually unflappable Huntington.

Longstride, who was secretly tailing them at a good distance, witnessing the effortless display of strength, offered a look of grudging admiration. "By Lucifer's army of the dead."

Inside, the beam of the duo's torches danced across a macabre tableau of glistening bones – silent witnesses to the fates of long-dead pirates. Deeper within the treacherous passages, in a lonely alcove, the light finally settled upon their prize: a golden Aztec skull, resting on a stone pedestal, its surface radiating a spectral gleam in the flickering torchlight.

“By the celestial spheres!” Huntington breathed, his voice echoing through the cavern. “Behold! A skull of gold… a relic of a time when Aztec riches mingled with Spanish steel. This… this must mark the hidden trove of Blackbeard and Morgan!”

His eyes, alight with a fierce admiration, swept across the cavern. “Only a man of such uncommon strength could have unveiled this secret. This very act… it confirms our destiny to unearth a bounty beyond imagining!”

A shared look passed between them – John’s brute force and Huntington’s scholarly insights locking together, forging an unbreakable resolve.

The silence of the cave settled once more, broken only by the drip of water and their ragged breaths. The golden skull gleamed, a solitary testament to a forgotten era. The fabled Spanish gold of Henry Morgan remained elusive. A palpable sense of mystery hung heavy in the air.

Huntington stroked his grizzled beard, his brow furrowed in thought. “It seems, my dear John, that fate has presented us with but half the puzzle. The treasure that promises a king’s ransom… it remains veiled, awaiting further secrets scattered across these cursed isles, I'll wager. Our quest, it appears, has only just begun.”

John’s fist clenched, his voice resonating with unwavering determination. “Then we press on! Strength and wisdom shall be our guides against hidden spectres that stand in our path. Onward, until every clue is unearthed, and the riches of pirate lore are laid bare at last!”

A distant rumble of thunder echoed through the cavern as they turned to leave, their purpose renewed. The golden Aztec skull, bathed in the flickering torchlight, seemed to pulse with the promise of untold fortune.

"We'd best leave the Skull alone," suggested John.

"Perhaps," rebounded Huntington, not at all intending to honour that statement.

"I'll just video the find for later reference." John pulled out his mobile, circling the gleaming golden skull, to capture every detail.

The pair retraced their footsteps, and John returned the stone edifice, to seal the cave. Huntington tried to move the stone with all his might - just to see if he could, but it would not budge.

After the pair depart, Longstride returns to open the rock doorway, but cannot move it.

>>> CHAPTER 15

ABSTRACT: Rendezvous at Muelle de Barcos, crew asked to remain on docked Hispaniola. Dan and Cleopatra to remain on Swann. But Long shadows Huntington and Storm, as they seek to identify map landmarks. Mostly erased by Hurricane Iota. Huntington is forced to reveal other clues, not included on duplicate map. They find a cave full of pirate skeletons, and a golden skull. John Longstride thinks this is the location of Blackbeard's/Morgan's treasure. He noted John's strength in moving some large rocks, impossible for an ordinary man to move. Huntington also surprised at the extraordinary feat.

HURRICANE IOTA NOVEMBER 2020 - Providencia (boat dock) and Santa Catalina were ravaged by extreme weather when heading into 2021.

The small Colombian island of Providencia was hit hard by the powerful Category-5 hurricane Iota, which caused severe damage to the majority of local’s homes and the already scant public infrastructure.

At that time, Colombia’s President, Ivan Duque, said it is the first Category 5 – the most serious of hurricanes – to hit the Andean nation in its history.

Providencia island had a population of 5,000 people and is part of the Archipelago of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina located in the Caribbean Sea about 775km (481 miles) northwest of mainland Colombia. Geographically, it is closer to the central American country of Nicaragua.

The hurricane was first considered a Category 2 but just before passing Providencia it developed into a Category-5 tropical cyclone which NASA said can have wind speeds of up to 253km/h (157mph) and has the ability to cause catastrophic damage.

Neighbouring larger island San Andres also faced damage to its infrastructure, albeit less intense. Northern Colombian coastal cities, like Cartagena, have flooded and are battling high winds.

According to the United States Office of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2020 has had the highest hurricane activity in the Atlantic since official records began in 1851.

PROLOGUE: ROYAL AFRICAN COMPANY - King Charles II, Royal Charter James Stuart II, transport goods from Africa: Bloody Triangle.

SCENE 1. THE BATTLE OF OCRACOKE - Lt Robert Maynard, Blackbeard's curse, beheading & torturous interrogation on the Adventure 

SCENE 2. EARTHQUAKE JAMAICA - Present Day - An earthquake hits Port Royal, disturbing the sunken city & Palisadoes cemetery.

SCENE 3. BLUE SHIELD ENGLAND - Blue Shield, Newcastle UK, UNESCO requests Storm catalogue underwater city UNEP World Heritage Site.

SCENE 3.1. SWASHBUCKLING - John tries out Dan's VR sword fencing program, then duel with real pirate cutlasses, Hal keeping score.

SCENE 4. HENRY MORGAN'S DEATH - Henry Morgan has a heart attack; funeral ceremony at Palisadoes cemetery, old Port Royal.

SCENE 5. SUNKEN CITY SURVEY - Present Day, Swann's sensors scan the ocean bed, revealing mausoleum former Governor of Jamaica.

SCENE 6. JUNE 1692 TSUNAMI - Jamaica, June 7th, an earthquake hits Port Royal, then a tsunami washes the pirate haven under the sea.

SCENE 6.1. GHOSTS BLACKBEARD & MORGAN  - Spectral figures cheer on John Storm as he searches Henry's Palisadoes crypt for clues.

SCENE 7. HENRY MORGAN'S COFFIN - John Storm & ROV, comes face to face with Henry's skeletal remains. Finds interesting wooden engraving.

SCENE 8. BBC JILL BIRD - London. John Storm's finds lost Henry Morgan's pirate remains. "And for those of you wondering, there was no treasure."
SCENE 9. OPERATION HISPANIOLA - British Geographical Society, & Royal Navy fund Lord Huntington's expedition to recover relics in the Caribbean.

SCENE 10. SHIP'S COOK - William Gray helps John Long's cut-throats to crew for Huntington's Hispaniola, Long a dab hand on the galley.

SCENE 11. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOS - Huntington (BGS bigwig) asks John Storm for help with shipwreck survey - meet in the Caribbean, Haiti.

SCENE 12. SKELETON ISLAND - Intrigued by map proffered by Lord Huntington, John agrees to switch attention to location, to coast of Panama. .

SCENE 13. SANTA CATALINA - Colombian, Mexican, Panamanian, Nicaraguan patrols re: 'Satisfaction' & hunt for Aztec gold, Spanish Conquistadors.

SCENE 14. TREASURE ISLAND - Hurricane Iota erased map clues, Isla Providencia. Longstride believes location of Blackbeard's/Morgan's treasure.

SCENE 15. KIDNAP - Black Jack & Billy Bones kidnap Dan, Cleopatra - lock in Hispaniola with Tremaine. Hal alerts John to events via BioCore.

SCENE 15.1. THE GAUNTLET - With Dan and Cleopatra hostage, John challenges Black Jack to a duel, which Billy Bones ends with a pistol shot.

SCENE 15.2. MAROONED - Left of the dockside, John is forced to play along with Longstride, to give Hal time to recover situation safely.

SCENE 16. DOUBLE CROSS - Maynard pact with Spanish Navy to blockade Caribbean to capture John & Swann. Longstride deal Aztec Golden Skull.

SCENE 17. BLACKBEARD'S CURSE - John retakes Swann, Hal immobilizes Black Jack and Billy Bones and rescues prisoners on Hispaniola.

SCENE 18. MORGAN'S TREASURE SHIP - John deciphers carving code helped Dan and Cybercore Genetica. Dives to find privateer's shipwreck.

SCENE 19. BILLION DOLLAR DEAL - John negotiates with Panama, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador & Blue Shield for % salvage based on wreck video.

SCENE 20. BLOCKADE RUNNER - Swann navigates through Spanish Armada & Royal Navy blockade in stealth mode, invisible to radar.

SCENE 21. BERMUDA TRIANGLE - Pirates head into Bermuda Triangle, Colombian Navy in pursuit: BBC Sky News. Never to be seen again.

  MOST OF THE CLUES ON HUNTINGTON'S MAP ARE ERASED BY HURRICANE IOTA - TREASURE ISLAND - BLACKBEARD'S CURSE & PIRATES GOLD

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